Sunday, April 3, 2016

If you know me, you know that St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday to celebrate. It also happens to be my wedding anniversary as well. So when we set out for our Monthly Themes for this year's Photography Challenge, I knew this month's theme of "Go Green" would be a perfect opportunity for me to showcase my favorite day.

But it didn't really turn out that way.

We had our annual St. Patrick's Day/Anniversary party and I was too busy running around getting everything prepped, cooked, ordered and put together (thank you again, Amy, for all your help!). And between getting a cold that was getting progressively worse as the night went on and still recovering from a night of drinking way too much on March 5th, I didn't celebrate with drink. So. No photos from St. Patrick's Day as I planned.

What I did end up with makes me laugh so hard though and it's perfect for my idea of using this year's photography challenge as a way to bring together "The Year of Adventure for Molly & Steve"

While wandering around the Autry Museum the weekend after our anniversary, I heard Steve laughing (one of my very favorite sounds in this world- which you'll get to enjoy for yourself a little farther down in this post) and telling me to come over to him. I did not expect to find him mounted on a saddle on a fake horse. But there he was, having the time of his life, pretending to be a cowboy, "galloping", "shooting" and all. I was so focused on the green screen, knowing that I had found what would likely be my photo of the month, that I didn't realize he was acting out a lifelong dream of playing the starring role in a Western movie. See for yourself:

I do have to share another photo that was a great alternative from our delightful date day last weekend at the Los Angeles Arboretum with Katie. Peacocks roam- and scream- freely around the grounds of the Arboretum. I got this photo after we left for the day, and after we got lunch (at the most amazing dumpling house- we highly recommend Din Tai Fung), and when we went back before heading to Santa Monica because Steve "lost" his keys. Someone decided to wear fleece lined pants on a day when it was 80+° and ended up sitting on a bench for most of the time instead of walking around because he was cranky. We were all convinced that the keys would be near one of the two benches he sat at.

Unfortunately, they weren't.

Fortunately, they were in the glove compartment the entire time.

Capturing this beautiful peacock in all its green glory with the green, green grass in the background made our useless trip back to the Arboretum worth it: